1. Field of Invention
The subject invention is generally related to safety and surveillance equipment for aircraft, ships and other commercial vehicles and is specifically directed to a comprehensive multi-media traffic management and security surveillance system for same while in port or terminal and/or unattended whether taxiing or parked. The system of the subject invention also permits tracking while en route.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Security is of ever increasing importance. This is particularly true with respect to commercial airlines as more and more people and freight are moved in this manner and aircraft and other commercial transports increasingly become the targets of terrorists activities. The airways are becoming increasingly crowded with traffic. Global tracking systems are now in place to monitor the flight of the aircraft from the moment it lifts off until it safely lands at its destination. Radar and navigational positioning systems are commonplace both on the aircraft and at the ground tracking stations. All of these electronic systems have increased the overall safety record of commercial traffic to new standards as the number of miles flown continues to escalate.
In addition, the on board avionics including electronic monitoring and diagnostic equipment, particularly on large commercial jets, continues to evolve, giving both the on board crew and the ground assets more complete, accurate and up to date information regarding the condition of the aircraft while in flight. Flight recorders long have been incorporated in order to provide a record of each flight and in order to provide critical information to aid in the determination of the causes of an accident or multifinction should one occur.
However, one area which has been neglected with the ever increasing availability of electronic surveillance is the security of the aircraft or other vehicles or vessels, including, but not limited to, over-the-road vehicles, ships and other commercial transports (collectively referred to as commercial transports), particularly when unattended. Typically, when an aircraft is on the ground, or in port, and unattended the only security provided is the security of the location. If the security of the area in which the commercial transport is stored is breached, the commercial transport is an easy target. In most cases, even the access doors are left open and further, for obvious safety reasons, are designed not to be locked from the outside. Many critical areas of the commercial transport are left exposed such as in an aircraft, by way of example, the landing gear, the engine housing and critical wing and tail components.
In addition, most of the ground traffic control relies on pilot visual information and onboard avionics providing an in adequate, at best, traffic management system utilizing already overworked equipment. The limited control and management of terminal traffic including not only the commercial transports, but also ground personnel, security vehicles and fuel trucks and other support vehicles, creates a dangerous and hazardous condition at most highly congested terminals. There are not any monitoring devices to assure that such traffic is in its assigned zones or to alert when a commercial transport is at risk because of breach of a restricted zone by unauthorized personnel or unauthorized vehicles, including overlapping exclusive occupancy zones by more than one commercial transport.
In addition, with terrorism and sabotage an increasing problem there is significant need to develop an integrated system capable of providing good physical/visual and/or audio surveillance as well as monitoring- of the environmental, security and motion conditions of the commercial transport and various components while the commercial transport is on the ground. For example, a good visual surveillance system would give instant evidence of a breach of commercial transport security, could sound an alarm and could immediately secure the area.
Such a system would also permit the recording of visual information to provide a history for later review, providing yet another source of information for increasing the overall security of commercial transportation.
While such a system would be of great benefit to the commercial transport and airline industries in general and to the commercial airlines in particular, there are no integrated systems currently available which adequately meets these needs.